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It was mid-afternoon and the subway was packed, even for a Saturday. The good weather obviously meant that quite a few people had had the idea to spend the day out, not just Hime and her friends. As more and more people got onto the train at each station, they ended up squeezed together near the opposite door.
“More people are trying to get in,” said Iona. “Hime, move up the aisle a little bit.”
“I’ll try,” said Hime, reluctantly squeezing into a small space just at the start of the aisle. She looked around to see if she could move any further down, but the aisle was well and truly full now. She noticed there was a man in a green tie on the opposite side of the aisle to her.
A man in a green tie.
Why did she take notice of that?
Hime’s heart skipped a beat. She leaned towards Megumi, who was standing next to her, and murmured in her ear. “Isn’t that Namakelder over there?”
“Where?” said Megumi, a little loudly and with a complete lack of subtlety as she looked over too. Iona nudged her.
“Shh! And Hime, don’t call him that. What if he hears? He probably doesn’t want to be reminded of that.”
Hime looked over her shoulder at Namakelder- no...
“What was his name again?” Megumi asked, voice lower this time.
“Namase,” said Hime quietly. For a moment she was afraid that the man himself would hear them, but he seemed engrossed in his phone. Hime found herself wondering what he was looking at. What kind of things did Namase like? What kind of things did he do?
“He’s wearing his suit on a Saturday,” said Yuuko, her tone sympathetic. “Working overtime doesn’t seem like the Namakelder we knew.”
Iona frowned at the second namedrop, but simply said, “It doesn’t mean he wants to.”
Hime smiled in spite of herself, turning back to face the others. “Maybe he hates it. Maybe he spends all day talking about what a pain it is.”
“That’s not really funny,” said Iona, but she was smirking too. “Makes me feel sorry for him.”
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” said Megumi, smiling gently. “It’s like we know him...but we don’t.”
Though the girls smiled at one another, Megumi’s words were a little melancholy.
Just then, their station was called out over the loudspeaker.
“Already?” Megumi exclaimed, as the four of them quickly attempted to squeeze their way to the open doors. “Sorry, excuse us...”
As they exited the train, Hime couldn’t help but look back. Namase should have been getting off at this station too if he was on his way home. But she couldn’t see him, and someone nearly walked into her.
“Hime, you’re getting in the way,” said Iona, pulling Hime by the arm. Reluctantly, she gave in, and they let themselves be carried through the crowd.
At the ticket barrier, Hime was still fishing around in her bag for her pass case by the time the other three had already passed through.
“Hime, what’s wrong?” Megumi called over. “Did you lose your railcard?”
“I thought it was in my pocket,” said Hime frustratedly, “But it’s not there, and it’s not here either...”
“Looking for something?” came a deep voice from behind her. Hime’s heart missed a beat for the second time in one day. Even now, she could recognise that voice.
“My pass case...” said Hime shyly, turning around to look up at the man who was handing it to her. It was, of course, Namase.
“It fell out of your pocket in the crowd,” he said, lips turned up in a small smile. “You should be careful with your things.”
“I-I will,” said Hime, taking the case and hesitating. She wanted to prolong the conversation just a little bit, somehow. “I’m...um...thank you...” she paused. “...Namase.”
“It’s my pleasure,” said Namase. For some reason, the familiarity of his tone set her at ease. “Princess.”
Hime swallowed. Being called ‘princess’ by him in public was a little embarrassing. Nervousness reaching a peak, Hime nodded at him and swiftly turned around to pass through the ticket barrier. It was only then that she realised that her friends waiting on the other side were fixing her with quite the amused looks.
“Hime, are you embarrassed?” Megumi teased with a grin.
“Wasn’t that kind of him?” Yuuko smiled.
“Don’t say anything!” Hime blushed profusely. One last time, she looked around to see where Namase was. It took her a moment, but he was stood next to the elevator a few paces away.
“He’s taking the elevator?” said Iona, following Hime’s gaze. “Lazy.”
Namase, who seemed to notice the girls watching him, sneered characteristically and stuck out his tongue at them. Hime couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “He hasn’t changed.”
“It’s him all right,” said Iona. “Come on Hime, let’s go.”
Hime trailed behind, reluctant to let Namase leave her sight. It had been a long time since they’d seen the generals, and it could be a long time before they’d meet again.
But Hime could be sure of one thing at least: the real Namakelder was kind. And yet still like himself. Their real selves had always been there, deep down.
“If you don’t look where you’re going you’ll walk into something,” said Iona warningly, but her gaze was knowing.
“I hope we meet them again.”
“I hope so too.”